More Than Making Do
by idealskeptic
Summary: Rosalie tells Bella in Twilight that Esme "makes do" with her substitute children. But is that how Esme sees it, as simply making do? Probably not. ... 25 500 word one-shot drabbles featuring Esme and 25 different Twilight characters to prove she doesn't just "make do." Canon. Random characters, random times.
1. The Wives' Club - Carmen

**Disclaimer:**All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N: **I just finished writing 25 things about Leah Clearwater and decided, with the help of the ever lovely _**Alix Aurelia**_ and others, that I wanted to do another "character study" of one of Stephenie Meyer's characters.

So I picked Esme, who I adore.

There will be 25 chapters of Esme in this, all featuring a different person interacting with Esme. They will all be 500 words and aren't going to be posted in any order; alphabetical, chronological, or otherwise.

I hope you like them!

* * *

_"__Esme's made do with us as substitutes...__" - Rosalie_

**The Wives' Club**

"I told Eleazar that we should adopt pretend children like you and Carlisle did."

Esme looked up from the shelf of cashmere sweaters in surprise. "What did you just say, Carmen?"

The Spanish vampire grinned impishly and trailed her fingertips over a rack of silk blouses. "The sisters aren't the same, Esme. Tanya is the coven leader, we can't pretend that she's our daughter and Kate spends all her time in the woods with Garrett."

"Yes, I know all that. What I don't understand is why you told Eleazar that. Why _did_ you tell Eleazar that?"

Leaving the blouses behind, Carmen moved on to a display of leather pants. "Eleazar, he's so… stiff and stuffy sometimes," she admitted. "I think that Carlisle is sometimes too, but I bet that your so-called children make him relax sometimes, don't they?"

Esme nodded, waiting for the explanation to start making a little more sense. "He does, especially when he goes away with just the boys. Isn't Eleazar getting along with Garrett?"

Carmen shook her head. "He is, when Garrett's not busy making up for lost time with Kate. He just… worries so much. I'm not being selfish either; I don't want him to relax just for me, I want it for him too. He'll be better for it all around."

"You did marry a priest, Carmen," she pointed out. "You can't expect too much wild, craziness from him."

"Ah, then that is why the woman married to the son of a priest tells me that her husband can relax 'with the boys'?" She winked and grabbed Esme's hand, leading her into the main walkway of the store. "So, if Eleazar says no to finding vampires to adopt, what do you suggest, oh wise one?"

"He will say no," Esme laughed, "and why don't you go on vacation, an extended one all by yourselves?"

"Nowhere to go, and my husband's a stick in the mud," Carmen pouted.

The wife of the son of a priest clapped her hands together and smiled as the pair reached the shoe department. "You've never been to Isle Esme, you'll go there," she declared.

"I've never been because I've let Eleazar convince me we didn't need to go," the olive skinned vampire reminded her friend. "I want to go. You have to convince him to take me."

Esme shook her head. "I have a better idea. I'll get Carlisle to invite him. The four of us can go to talk about dark, serious things away from our families. Then, after a little while, Carlisle will have to get back to work and we'll leave you there alone for as long as you can keep Eleazar there."

Carmen's grin was blinding as she hugged her friend. "You, my dear, are deliciously evil and I love it," she declared. "That is the perfect plan and it will be so lovely to be there with you first."

"With all that in mind, we'd better go look at swimsuits," Esme said, smiling smugly.


	2. Truth of the Volturi - Eleazar

**Disclaimer:**All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

_"__Esme's made do with us as substitutes...__" - Rosalie_

* * *

**Truth of the Volturi**

"Is he lying to me?"

"No, not lying," Eleazar said quietly, shaking his head. "Perhaps not telling you every detail would be a better description of what Carlisle's doing."

Esme drummed her fingers on the polished wooden dining table and sighed. "I trust him completely, but is he not telling me things I _need_ to know?"

He thought about it for a long minute before he answered. "Not exactly, no. From what I know that he's told you, he's giving you the broad picture and leaving out the specifics. For example; the Volturi will return one day, for Alice, Benjamin, and maybe Edward and Bella, but he hasn't emphasized that Demetri will be keeping careful track of all our whereabouts in the meantime. If he sense too many of us gathering too close together, they will act sooner rather than later."

She tried to hide her shiver, but she couldn't. The simple thought of the Volturi coming again was terrifying in itself but knowing that they had targets to acquire was unnerving. "They want to add them to the Guard," she said, as much to herself as to him, "but they want some of us dead, don't they?"

Eleazar shifted uneasily in his chair. He hoped that Carlisle wouldn't be upset with him for laying it all out for his wife. If it turned out that he was upset, Eleazar would simply suggest that Carlisle tell Carmen all the things _she_ didn't yet know. "Yes, Esme," he admitted reluctantly, "they do want some of us dead; some more than others."

"Carlisle?"

He exhaled deeply and nodded. "Yes. He's always been on their radar as a threat, even when I was in the Guard and he didn't yet have a coven, but I have no doubt that Aro will not consider himself safe in his power as long as Carlisle walks the earth."

Esme swallowed hard and struggled to hold herself together. "What can I do? Is there anything that will make a difference?"

"Be there for Carlisle, of course. More than that, learn to fight. Learn to defend him _when_ it comes to a fight. He's so strongly anti-violence that I'm sure you don't know all that you could know, that perhaps you should know."

"I don't think it's a 'perhaps' anymore," she said softly. "I have to learn to fight."

Eleazar nodded in agreement. "The best person to teach you to fight, as much as you may not want to hear it, is Jasper. No one knows more than him. He may be reluctant to teach you, though."

She shook her head ruefully. "He won't be. He's already offered. He told our entire family that he'll teach us whatever we want to know."

He reached out across the table and put his hands over hers. "Then learn from him. It is the only hope in this."

Esme couldn't meet his eyes. She stared out the window behind him, accepting what silent comfort he could offer her with his touch.


	3. Leave Him Be - Tanya

**Disclaimer:**All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N: **I haven't been replying to reviews because, well, that'd take away from my time writing more of these but I want everyone who has left a review to know that I absolutely do read and adore every one of them! Thank you so much!

* * *

_"__Esme's made do with us as substitutes...__" – Rosalie_

**Leave Him Be**

Esme sighed and waited until Edward had fled the house before she approached the blonde vampire. She was nervous, to be sure, because Tanya was nearly a millennia older than she was, but she couldn't stand quietly in the shadows any more. She simply had to do it.

"You need to leave him alone," she said, skipping small talk in favor of not losing her nerve.

Tanya shook her head, her strawberry blonde curls settling over her shoulders. "I don't understand," she said. "I need to leave Edward alone?"

"Yes, you need to leave Edward alone," Esme repeated. "Your… advances make him uncomfortable. He's told you that he's not interested. Isn't that enough?"

"Not really, no," she replied. "He hasn't told me _why_ he's not interested in me."

Esme blinked in disbelief, wondering if the woman really heard and understood what she was saying. "So you think he's lying about not being interested in everything you're offering him?"

"Not lying exactly," Tanya hedged, surprised by Carlisle's wife's sudden boldness – she'd always been so meek and mild. "I just think that maybe, since he was only seventeen when Carlisle created him, he doesn't understand what he wants."

Crossing her arms over her chest, Esme said a silent prayer that Edward had run too far from the Alaska house to be hearing a word of the conversation she'd started on his behalf. "Or maybe he understands all too well," she suggested. "Seventeen or not, he can hear every thought in every person's head. I'm absolutely certain he knows what it is that you're asking him for. If he says no, leave it go. Please."

Tanya's brow furrowed in frustration. Carlisle was her peer, Esme was only his wife. She didn't want Carlisle to be upset with her, so she tried her best to, very loosely, agree to what the other woman was asking of her. "Fine. I'll stop being so pushy."

Esme leaned forward, dropping her hands to her sides. "No. More than that, Tanya. He knows what you're… offering. If he wants to take advantage of it, he'll come to you. I'm sure you wouldn't turn him down, would you?" she asked.

Knowing when she was caught, the older vampiress winked. "No, I wouldn't. You know," she said thoughtfully, leaning a little away from Carlisle's wife, "I never pegged you for such a fierce mother figure. You really do think of him as your son, don't you?"

"First impressions are usually wrong, Tanya," Esme reminded her. "And yes, I do think of him as my son. Mothers protect their children whenever they feel like the children need protecting. Remember that."

Tanya nodded slowly, a faraway look in her golden eyes as she remembered Sasha, her own mother-figure in the vampire world. "I'll remember that, Esme. I'm sorry."

"Apologize to Edward," she suggested, "by not pressuring and pestering him with your sexual fantasies again. At least not verbally, I know you can't control your thoughts."

Duly chastised, Tanya let the matter drop.


	4. Girls' Night Out - Kate

**Disclaimer:**All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N: **I haven't been replying to reviews because, well, that'd take away from my time writing more of these but I want everyone who has left a review to know that I absolutely do read and adore every one of them! Thank you so much!

_"__Esme's made do with us as substitutes...__" – Rosalie_

* * *

**Girls' Night Out**

Kate yanked another handful of dresses out of the closet and examined them with a critical eye. "Don't you have anything shorter?"

Esme sighed as she sat on the edge of her bed. "No. Why don't you go look in Rosalie's closet if you want something different? She's taller than you, but I'm sure you can shorten something."

Plucking a cherry red sleeveless shift dress that was neither short nor long from a pile of already discarded dresses, Kate held it against her body. "I can't shorten this?"

"No," she said firmly. "I like that one just the way it is."

"Meaning Carlisle likes it just the way it is," the Denali vampire cooed in a sing-song voice. "Totally understandable, Esme. I can see him liking this one a lot. I'm impressed by the red."

Esme rolled her eyes and caught the silky fabric when Kate tossed it to her. "I like red."

"It looks good on you," she said absently. "Rosalie won't mind if I shorten something of hers?"

"You might not have to shorten anything. Some of her things are very short. Besides, she and Alice have a trip to Paris planned so she'll be overhauling her wardrobe."

"Oooh," Kate cooed. "Maybe they'll let me tag along. Bella isn't going?"

"Bella? Shop?" Esme laughed and sprawled on her side on the bed. "I really don't think so. You should go along, though. I'm sure they'll take you."

"That's for another day." She let out a squeal of delight when she found a purple strapless, sequined baby doll dress. "Today we have a girls' night out in Seattle. And I want to wear this? Can I?"

Tossing the red dress aside, Esme found a traditional little black dress and grinned when Kate gave it a nod of approval. She only wore the red dress when Carlisle would see it and he wouldn't on a girls' night out. "You can have that one, Kate. Alice bought it for me but I'll never wear it. So please, please, take it."

Kate laughed and stripped out of the paisley print sundress she was wearing. "Thanks much, Esme, I will do just that." She had her new dress on in the blink of an eye. "Now, do you know how to have a proper girls' night out? Let your hair down and all that?"

Darting past the blonde vampire, Esme pulled a pair of strappy, studded five inch heels from her closet. "Oh, I know how to let my hair down," she promised the other woman. "Rosalie and Alice have taught me some things, you know."

"Can't wait to see it," Kate said with a wink.

"You doubt me, probably because I'm married, but I'll remind you that you have a mate now. A girls' night out might not be so easy for you anymore."

Kate shook her long blonde hair and fixed her makeup in the mirror. "Doubt it. Garrett doesn't care what I do. If he does, forget him. Let's go."


	5. Wandering Soul - Garrett

**Disclaimer:**All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

_"__Esme's made do with us as substitutes...__" – Rosalie_

* * *

**Wandering Soul**

"Isn't it lonely?" Esme asked Garrett as they stood back and watched Bella practice using her shield on Edward against Kate.

"It was, sometimes," he admitted, using the past tense because he'd already decided, deep down, that his life would be with Kate now and he knew she would never be a nomad. "I suppose I'd ask you the same thing, if your life isn't suffocating?"

"Sometimes," she admitted quietly. "You're going to try it, aren't you?"

"Try to stop wandering? Yes," he confirmed. "If we get through this, and if Kate'll have me, I am going to quit wandering. I should, right?"

"She won't leave her sisters," Esme told him, "so you'll have to if you want her."

Garrett gave a single, brusque nod. "I do."

"So you'll give up wandering."

He nodded and didn't take his eyes off the woman he now knew he loved. "I'll miss it, but not as much as I'd miss her if I left. I don't think I can anymore."

"When I woke up, after Carlisle bit me, he gave me the choice to go out on my own," Esme said, and her words got Garrett's attention enough that he looked at her. "He said he'd teach me the laws of the vampire world and show me one life then let me leave to try another. He even told me about a nomadic friend of his named Garrett who he thought much teach me the ways of the nomad's life if that's what I wanted."

Garrett opened and closed his mouth twice. "Really? He was going to give you to me?"

"Let me go to you," she corrected him gently. "Carlisle doesn't believe anyone has possession over another, even mates.

"I could see the pain, and even fear, in his eyes when he made the offer, though. But I remembered that he made it and I thought about it a lot. Mostly I found myself thinking about how terrible of an offer it really was. I wanted to stay with him very badly. I couldn't imagine being anywhere else.

"If you asked him, he'd probably tell you that I was a very well-behaved newborn who paid attention and did as she was told. He'd be lying to you. Sort of. I wasn't impossible by nature, though, I was badly behaved on purpose. I was selfish. I wanted Carlisle to stay home with me and help me to get through it all. I didn't want him to go away. I didn't want him to send me away."

"He wouldn't have," Garrett suggested.

"No, he wouldn't," she agreed. "Anyway, by the time I gave up misbehaving and he declared me a fit, mature vampire, there was no way I could have left him and I'm pretty sure I would've killed anyone who tried to take me from him."

"That's how I feel about Kate now." He turned his eyes back to the woman he loved.

"Good," Esme said. "You two need each other. Very badly."


	6. Odd One Out - Siobhan

**Disclaimer:**All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

_"__Esme's made do with us as substitutes...__" – Rosalie_

* * *

**Odd One Out**

Esme sighed as she watched the tall Irish vampire talking quietly with Carlisle. She'd never worried that her husband wanted anyone other than her but there was something about the way he seemed to share a bond with Siobhan that gnawed at her thoughts. She was beginning to understand the frustration and irritation she sometimes noticed in Jasper when Edward and Alice were together.

Esme knew Carlisle saw Siobhan as nothing more than a close, dear friend but asking her to like the friendship would be going too far.

She forced herself to smile when Liam came to stand beside her.

"Feeling left out?" he said, his Irish accent thick. When she looked up at him, he took her answer to be yes and nodded. "I do too when they're together. Strange, isn't it?"

"Mm-hmm," she hummed in reply. Then, eager not to seem desperate and clingy to the even taller Irish vampire, she sighed and tried to explain. "I'm not jealous, of course. I'm just…"

"Annoyed?" he finished for her. "Irritated? Frustrated? Don't worry, Esme, I am all of those things too. And I know I shouldn't be."

"It's just… odd that they have such a connection and they don't know each other all that well. Do they?" Esme looked up at him, suddenly remembering that Liam was older than Carlisle in human years and vampire years.

Liam laughed and shook his head. "Not that well, no," he said. "But yes, I have been there every time they've been together and I felt the same the first time as I do now. Do you know what I think it is?"

Feeling stupidly relieved at his admission, she shook her head.

"I think it's that Siobhan, as much as she scoffs at the idea of her being able to change the outcome of something, likes hearing Carlisle tell her that she can. I've tried to agree with him, but she only scoffs at me and changes the subject. After we've been around him, though, like when the Volturi came after the little girl and left, that's when she considers that he might be right."

Giving a soft huff of a sigh, Esme shook her head. "That makes sense, but it doesn't explain his fascination with her."

"Doesn't it?" Liam crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall. "Eleazar told me that Carlisle is a studier, though not a collector, of gifted vampires. Why wouldn't he be fascinated with a gift he thinks Siobhan has but she denies?"

Esme couldn't help but pout petulantly at the idea, even though she recognized the reality in it. "It doesn't get better of time?" she asked.

"Not really, no," he admitted. "Then again, with us chasing the Volturi away like we did, and her having visualized the outcome, maybe it'll be different because she'll accept it more."

"That's true," she said, secretly hopeful. "After all, everyone gave her some credit for it. Maybe she won't be as special to him for now."


	7. Silent Witness - Kebi

**Disclaimer:**All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

_"__Esme's made do with us as substitutes...__" – Rosalie_

* * *

**Silent Witness**

Esme felt strange speaking around Kebi, because it did absolutely no good to speak to Kebi. She never answered anyway. Sometimes she would nod or shake her head, if Amun gave her permission. Most often, she was as silent as the statues that were so important to the ancient Egyptian culture.

It was unnerving, to say the least, and bordered on frightening, to say the most.

Esme had been raised in a time when women were second tier citizens, controlled by their husbands, and not to even speak much unless spoken to. She'd been abused and beaten down by her own husband and, in the years since she'd perfected the control of her bloodlust, she'd volunteered occasionally at shelters for battered women. She knew what a woman completely controlled and cowed by her husband looked like.

Kebi did not look like any of those women. She was completely different.

She looked perfectly content with her place in the world, her place as Amun's wife.

Maybe things had been different beyond Esme's comprehension when Kebi was born around 2500 B.C., she didn't discount that possibility.

It didn't make Kebi any more unnerving.

Kebi's red eyes followed her everywhere she went as they waited for the Volturi to arrive in the Pacific Northwest. Even after Amun and Carlisle's argument that led Amun to remove himself and Kebi from the house for the most part, Esme couldn't go anywhere without Kebi watching her.

Esme wasn't sure if Kebi didn't understand her or, more ominously, didn't like her.

And, of course, Kebi never said. She doubted Kebi would ever say. She wished Kebi would say, but holding her breath to wait for it would only get tedious and boring.

Even on the way to Egypt, Carlisle had warned her that it wouldn't do any good for her to speak to Kebi because Kebi would never speak. He'd even told her that, if she spoke to Amun, he'd probably look right through her, if he acknowledged her presence at all.

She'd almost offered to stay at a hotel, but she couldn't be separated from him.

She'd been very thankful for the presence of Benjamin and Tia, even if Kebi did glare at Tia every time she spoke. And that only fueled Esme's suspicions about the theory of different time, different place being the explanation for Kebi's unnerving behavior.

She just wished the woman would stop staring at her. Or speak to her and then stare at her. Either one would have been more than acceptable to Esme.

There were times when she considered asking Edward what was in the Egyptian vampire's mind, but she discarded the idea, knowing that Edward already had too much on his own mind.

Maybe she'd ask him after. If they survived.

She wondered idly if Kebi thought they would survive, what she thought of Renesmee, and if she thought she should be there at all. She wondered if Kebi had thoughts that Amun didn't suggest to her. She doubted it.


	8. Child at Heart - Tia and Benjamin

**Disclaimer:**All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

_"__Esme's made do with us as substitutes...__" – Rosalie_

* * *

**A Child at Heart**

Esme shrieked when Emmett's extremely full water balloon smacked against her shoulder and soaked her sweater. She didn't miss the way Tia and Benjamin stopped in mid-step, staring at her as if waiting for, and dreading, her reaction to it. They expected something of her, but they didn't get it.

Their mouths gaped in unison when she darted across the lawn and grabbed the power hose, snuck up behind Emmett, stuck the hose in his pants, and darted back to the spigot. With a flick of her wrist, she turned the water on full blast and vaulted up onto the porch, looking completely innocent when Emmett started accusing Edward and Bella of conspiring against him to carry out the trick.

When it became clear that the family moved on from the water balloon attack and the fallout, the guests of the Cullens drifted up to the porch and stood a few feet away from Esme, clasping hands tightly together.

"You don't want to play in the water balloon fight anymore?" Esme asked, smiling when she saw them. "Maybe throwing water in rubber balls is too tame for someone like you, Benjamin? We can do something else, you are our guests after all."

Benjamin only stood and looked at her curiously while Tia shook her head quickly. "No, the water balloon fight is very fun for us," she said, "but we don't understand something."

When she didn't explain, Esme nodded encouragingly. "What is it, Tia? We said we'll answer any questions you have about how we live."

Tia blinked a few times before she spoke. "You're not… mad that Emmett threw the water balloon at you when you weren't even in the game?"

"It's impossible to be mad at Emmett," Esme replied.

"Yes, but you're the mate of the coven leader," Tia pointed out, "didn't Emmett disrespect you?"

It all suddenly made sense to Esme and she shook her head. "No, not at all. I'd have felt bad if he hadn't thrown a balloon at me. Are you surprised that I haven't asked Carlisle to punish him? Or punished him myself?"

They nodded together.

Esme shook her head again. "Never. We don't punish in this family, you see. We play and we have fun. We each have our roles to play but, at heart, we're all children who want to be carefree and fun. That's not so different for you, is it?"

Tia and Benjamin shared a long look before they turned back to her. "No, it isn't," Benjamin admitted. "We're only fifteen and seventeen in human years, after all. We just never knew it could be like this."

"Well, it can," Esme said. "And the two of you are welcome to be let your inner child out in my home, in my family, whenever you want for as long as you want."

"Amun would be mad," Benjamin warned.

"Let him," Tia said firmly. She was already warming to the idea of spending as much time as possible with the Cullens.


	9. In the Doghouse - Jacob

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

_"__Esme's made do with us as substitutes...__" – Rosalie_

* * *

**In the Doghouse**

"I'm not hungry."

Esme froze in place. Shock was too gentle a word for what she felt when Jacob announced that he was, in fact, not hungry. She turned slowly and looked at him, sitting slumped on a stool in her kitchen. "What did you say?" She couldn't help but question her perfect hearing.

"I'm not hungry."

Her mind raced, wondering what in the world could have happened that would lead to Jacob Black not being hungry. "Are you sick?"

"No."

"Hurt?"

He grunted and shook his head. "Just don't feel like eating."

Esme chewed the inside of her lip. "Did something happen with your pack?" When Jacob shook his head, she tried something else. "Did you have another argument with Edward?"

"No. Nessie."

Shock was still too gentle a word for what she was feeling. "You had an argument with Nessie?" she asked, speaking slowly in case he was having as much trouble with the conversation as she was.

He wasn't, though, and he nodded. "Yeah, I had an argument with Nessie. She told me Nahuel's coming to visit and that she's going out with him. Then I called her inconsiderate for not telling me about it first. Then she said she didn't have to ask my permission to do anything, and called me possessive. Then I called her selfish for only thinking of herself. Then she said I was the selfish one for whining about not being consulted. So I said she was spoiled because she gets whatever she wants. Then she said I could come along and I said I wouldn't be caught dead around Nahuel and the she said, and I quote, 'I'm sure my dad and my uncles would be happy to arrange that for you.'"

Slightly horrified that her sweet granddaughter would say such a thing, and yet mostly understanding why she said it, Esme swallowed hard before she spoke and tried to think of something to say that would be of some use to the poor boy. "Oh, Jacob, it's just a little argument. Maybe it got out of hand when death threats vaguely got involved," she added, trying not to laugh at the absurdity of it all, "but it'll pass. You and Nessie care about each other far too much to let a visit from Nahuel do any damage to your relationship."

"What if he wants her?" Jacob asked plaintively, desperation in his voice.

"She wants you," Esme assured him. "That's what's important. For now, though, I think you both owe each other sincere, heartfelt apologies. The fact that you're not hungry tells me that you really do feel bad about what happened. There's only one way to make that right."

"Apologize," he repeated.

Esme nodded. "And don't be the only one to do it, Jacob," she reminded him. "Nessie owes you as much, if not more, of an apology than you owe her. So don't let her get away with it because she's your imprint. She has to say it too."


	10. The Greatest Gift - Renesmee

**Disclaimer:**All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note: **I keep forgetting to say that this story has a banner made by the ever lovely _**evieeden**_! Please do check it out! The link is on my profile.

* * *

_"__Esme's made do with us as substitutes...__" – Rosalie_

**The Greatest Gift**

Esme clutched her granddaughter's hand tightly and let the grown girl lead her through the wrought iron gates surrounding the Eternal Valley Rest, the oldest cemetery in Ashland, Wisconsin.

It seemed like only yesterday that Renesmee had been a tiny baby, her life nearly ended so many times before she'd seen even six months of life. Now she was grown, married, and expecting her own child in a few short months.

Esme's son hadn't had even six months of life.

She kept her eyes fixed on the paved path ahead of her, not wanting to see the row after row after row of crumbling, unkempt headstones and grave markers.

Renesmee was silent as she walked a step ahead, scanning the faded names on the marble and stone. She knew exactly where she was going and she didn't need to search for the right place, but she felt she owed it to the people buried there to, at the very least, acknowledge their presence and their life. After all, she'd already decided that, should her life ever come to an end, she'd want someone, sometime, somewhere, to think something as simple as, "Renesmee Cullen-Black was here. She existed."

"Is it very much further?" Esme asked in a voice not much above a whisper.

Renesmee looked at her grandmother in surprise. "Haven't you been here before?"

She shook her head. "It was busier then, more houses and people nearby," she explained, vaguely alluding to her earliest days as a vampire. "It wouldn't have been safe."

"Even for the burial?" Renesmee asked. "Before you, you know, jumped?"

"No. I didn't have any money then. He was buried in an unmarked grave behind the hospital. It was Carlisle who had him moved here and buried properly."

Renesmee nodded in understanding, but sensed that it wasn't a subject to be talked about too much. Soon enough, they were at a small, overgrown patch of grass in a far corner of the cemetery beneath a weeping willow tree. "Louis James Platt," she read aloud, "1921. Guardian angel and beloved son."

"I don't remember naming him that," Esme admitted in a whisper, "but Carlisle and Edward heard me saying that name over and over while I was changing so that's what his name was."

"Is," her granddaughter corrected her. "It's what his name is. He's still with you, he always will be."

"I know," she sighed. "I'm so glad I had him even for those few days of his life. Just like I'm so glad that I got to know another child so many years later."

"And know you'll know your great-grandson in a few months," Renesmee said as she rubbed her swollen belly. "I'll make sure he knows that Louis existed, I promise."

Esme smiled as the younger girl let go of her hand and took a few steps backward. Alone at the grave of her son, she dropped to her knees, touching the words engraved on the small marble stone.

He was her greatest gift.


	11. Prodigal Son - Edward

**Disclaimer:**All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note: **I keep forgetting to say that this story has a banner made by the ever lovely _**evieeden**_! Please do check it out! The link is on my profile.

_"__Esme's made do with us as substitutes...__" – Rosalie_

* * *

**Prodigal Son**

Esme stood by the door like a sentry, waiting for the return of the wayward prince.

It'd only be a few short hours since Edward, Alice, and Bella returned from Italy and, while Alice was close by – apologizing humbly to Jasper for lying to him and putting herself in danger, while trying to convince him not to take Edward apart for leading her to danger, Edward was still in town with Bella.

Esme knew he wouldn't be able to stay there long, not with Charlie Swan's desperation to have his daughter home and safely under his roof. Edward would come home to his family, even if it was just for a few minutes, she knew that.

And she fully intended to say what she had to say before he left again.

She flitted to the front porch the moment she heard his car in the driveway.

"I know," he said solemnly as he got out, "I won't ever do that to you again."

"You've said that before, you know," Esme pointed out. "And you were gone for years that time. You almost didn't come home this time."

Edward stared at the pavement below his feet, not moving away from his car. "I didn't want to come home, not until Bella and Alice arrived."

"But they shouldn't have had to arrive," she said. "They shouldn't have had to put themselves in danger to save you."

"I'm sorry," he offered weakly. "They shouldn't have come to Italy after me."

To her own surprise, Esme was just as angry at him as she was relieved that he was home safely. The anger even felt stronger than the relief, so she let it show through. "What if sorry isn't enough, Edward? While we waited to see if our family would be cut almost in half because of a choice you made, Carlisle told us about the Volturi. We know that Aro will want your talent, and Alice's even more so. What if he comes after us?"

"I didn't know what else…"

"You didn't know what else to do," she interrupted. "Of course not. But you were in the south, couldn't you just have antagonized Maria? I'm sure she would've been happy to end your life or let you join her army and die. Why involve the Volturi?"

Edward could only shrug helplessly, knowing every word she was speaking, and the ones she was only thinking, were absolute truth.

As the anger melted away a little, Esme sighed. "I'm sorry. You're my son and I love you and I'm so happy your home safe. Don't do it again. Please don't hurt our family again. We can help you, no matter what the problem is. Just let us help you. You're not alone in the world. You never have been."

He nodded, knowing she had one more thing to say.

"If Jasper takes you apart for this, I won't stop him," she said, knowing Jasper was listening, "but I will make him put you back together."


	12. Silent Advice - Bella

**Disclaimer:**All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note: **I keep forgetting to say that this story has a banner made by the ever lovely _**evieeden**_! Please do check it out! The link is on my profile.

_"__Esme's made do with us as substitutes...__" – Rosalie_

* * *

**Silent Advice**

It was rare that Edward and Rosalie were both away from Bella at the same time but, when Esme saw that they'd left her alone, she moved to sit close to the couch her daughter-in-law slept so fitfully on.

Not really asleep, Bella woke up right away and blinked wearily. "Where's Edward? And Rose?"

Esme waved her hand vaguely toward the back of the house. She had no intention of telling the girl that they were arguing about whether or not to deliver the baby regardless of what she wanted. "They're taking a break. Edward will be right back," she said instead.

Bella pushed herself into a sitting position and sighed as she leaned on the arm of the couch. "Can I ask you something, Esme?"

"Anything, sweetheart, always."

She rubbed her swollen belly and grimaced for a half-second. "When they were arguing, when Edward wanted Carlisle to… remove the baby and Rosalie didn't, you didn't really say anything. Why not?"

"Rosalie didn't belong in the conversation, at least not so vocally," she said, knowing full well that Rosalie could hear her. "Any decisions about the baby needed, and still need, to be made by you and Edward. No one else gets a vote. The most we can offer is advice, suggestion, support, and love through it all."

"Even Carlisle?"

"Even Carlisle," Esme confirmed. "I made the best choices I could for my son, and you have to do the same. And the best choices might not always be the ones you think."

"Edward and Rosalie both think you're on their side," Bella said.

Allowing herself a smile, Esme nodded. "I know. That's the best way to be in this family most of the time. But I'm not on anyone's side. I want you to be healthy and survive this, but I want you to be happy with how you get there. What that means, I don't know."

"Everyone else took sides. I heard Edward tell Jacob that Carlisle will never go against you," she added after a minute of thought, "doesn't that mean you went one way?"

"Only that I went just as I've explained." Esme sighed and tried to think of a clear, diplomatic way to explain the sometimes complicated workings in her family. "I think it's hardest for Carlisle, maybe, because the doctor in him wars with the father in him. Edward loves you more than anything. Rosalie wants a baby. Emmett will support her in all things. Jasper wants Alice not to be sad. Alice wants you to be her sister and her friend. I want everything to work out for everyone. That doesn't always happen."

Bella sighed as Esme stroked her hair gently. "I'm sorry I'm hurting your family. Again."

"You're my family too," Esme reminded her. "This is just a rough patch, Bella. We've had them before and they've made us stronger. I fully believe we will get through this too, all of us, and that we'll be better for it in the end."


	13. More Than Making Do - Charlie

**Disclaimer:**All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note: **I keep forgetting to say that this story has a banner made by the ever lovely _**evieeden**_! Please do check it out! The link is on my profile.

_"__Esme's made do with us as substitutes...__" – Rosalie_

* * *

**He'll Take Care of Her**

Esme smiled warmly as Charlie Swan walked up to her, looking uncomfortable in his tux.

"Alice says I'm supposed to dance with you," he said as Madonna's _I'll Remember _began to play. "I hope I don't step on your feet. I don't, well, dance."

Esme didn't miss the look he cast at the dance floor where Carlisle and Renee were already dancing and she wanted nothing more than to make him feel comfortable, as much as possible. It was obvious he did not want to dance, much less be one of only four people on the dance floor. "Don't worry about my feet," she said as she put her hands in his, "and I promise to yell at Alice for making you dance."

"No, don't yell at her," he said, letting his soft spot for her show though. "I suppose it's what parents do at weddings, right?"

"Mm-hmm," she hummed, letting Charlie lead as he should but guiding him to a rhythm something akin to actually dancing. "It's just one song. You can do it."

"I know, I just don't want to," he grumbled softly. "Of course, I don't really want to do any of this. I mean, my little girl is married. I just go her back and now she's leaving again."

"Just to college," Esme said, speaking around the lump in her throat brought on by the knowledge that Charlie would probably never see his daughter again.

"With her husband," he muttered. "I tried to be a good father to her, you know. I didn't get a lot of chances to be good, but I think I did okay."

Relieved that he was taller than her, even when she was in heels, and couldn't see the tears glistening in her eyes, Esme swallowed hard and tried to sound normal. "You did more than okay, Charlie. Bella adores you and loves you very much."

His gaze seemed fixed on some random point in the distance, but he nodded. "I hope so. I just hope she likes me enough not to disappear on me. She's been doing that a lot lately. I've got a bad feeling this time."

"Whatever happens, Charlie," she said, wishing she could give him some better comfort, "Edward will take care of her. I promise you that."

"I know," he said with a weary sigh. "It's easy to see he'd die to protect my little girl. I just, I suppose, I'm afraid it might come to that someday."

"Every parent is," Esme said, wishing she could promise him something more.

He laughed uneasily and kept dancing awkwardly with her in a small square of the dance floor. "I'm sorry, Esme. I don't usually spill my troubles onto people I hardly know."

"We all have to sometimes," she assured him with a smile. "Don't worry, whatever you say to me stays with me unless you want me to tell someone else."

"No, no," he said hurriedly. "Please don't worry Bella on my account. I'll be alright eventually."


	14. It's All About Balance - Sue

**Disclaimer:**All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note: **I keep forgetting to say that this story has a banner made by the ever lovely _**evieeden**_! Please do check it out! The link is on my profile.

_"__Esme's made do with us as substitutes...__" – Rosalie_

* * *

**It's All About Balance**

Esme was surprised, to say the least, when Sue Clearwater called and asked if they could meet somewhere in Forks; she offered the park with the explanation that Esme wouldn't have to pretend to eat if they avoided restaurants. She agreed, though, and sat on a bench watching a handful of children play on the swings while she waited.

"Sorry I'm late," Sue said, taking a seat beside her on the same bench. "I had a meeting with one of Seth's teachers. Apparently Edward is tutoring him too well and she thinks he's cheating."

"I'll tell Edward to make sure Seth misses a few now and then," Esme promised when she saw by the way the Quileute woman rolled her eyes that she was more annoyed than angry.

"Thanks." Sue pulled her hood up to shield herself from the misting fog. "That's not why I wanted to talk to you here, though. Sorry if my location request confused you, but I didn't want anyone to eavesdrop or purposely overhear our conversation."

"I completely understand that. What is it that you wanted to talk about?" Esme was genuinely curious because even as Sue spent more time at her house with Charlie, seeing Nessie, the Quileute woman rarely talked.

"Charlie," Sue said, starting with the simple answer. Even having been the one to ask for the meeting, she was still surprised that she was about to open her mind and heart to a vampire. "I want to talk about Charlie."

"You love him," Esme said softly, hoping to make it easier on the other woman.

Sue nodded. "Yes. But I can't love him. I shouldn't love him. Not when I know so much and he can't know anything."

Esme shook her head. "You can't decide who you do and don't love. It doesn't matter what you should or shouldn't do. Not logically, anyway. Of course, we've got special circumstances, don't we? I'm sorry you're in this position, Sue, I really am."

She nodded in acceptance of the other woman's words. "Do you think, maybe," she began hesitantly, "that Dr. Cullen would agree to my telling Charlie the truth? Or letting Bella tell Charlie the truth about your family, at least?"

Esme didn't have to think long about her answer. "Yes, he would. He'd ask me, and I'd say yes. But only if Bella and Edward agree, it is their story to tell. I know Bella will agree."

"But it would be alright with you and Dr. Cullen?"

"Absolutely," she said with a warm smile. "I want happiness for you and Charlie and I completely understand your dilemma. As long as he doesn't tell anyone else about it, about us, it'll be fine."

"He won't," Sue assured her. "I've already asked Billy, Quil, and Sam and they've given permission for our side things. So if Charlie needs to talk, there will be plenty of people."

"Then tell him," Esme said firmly. "Tell him and let yourself love him. You deserve it, Sue. Really."


	15. Unholy Alliance - Leah

**Disclaimer:**All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note: **I keep forgetting to say that this story has a banner made by the ever lovely _**evieeden**_! Please do check it out! The link is on my profile.

_"__Esme's made do with us as substitutes...__" – Rosalie_

* * *

**Unholy Alliance**

Annoyed at the fact that she spent half her time with an actual tail, Leah tucked her proverbial one and trudged up the steps to the Cullens' house on just two feet. Mercifully, of the eight leeches and one half leech in the family, only one was inside the big house. And it was the one she wanted to see.

"Hello, Leah," Esme said when the werewolf stepped through the open door. "Did you need something?"

"As stupid as it's going to sound, yeah, I do," she admitted. "I should just go before I embarrass myself. That's what I'll do. Sorry to bother you."

"Wait," Esme called out. "My family is far enough away that no one can hear you, even Edward. I know how to block him from my mind so if you tell me what you need, no one will ever know."

Leah turned back around and faced the weirdly comforting female vampire. "I'm going to sound stupid and you're going to laugh," she declared. "Luckily, I put my big girl panties on this morning so I can take it."

"I won't laugh," she promised.

Leah doubted that, but she plunged ahead with the proposal for the most unholy of alliances. "Sam and Emily's wedding is this weekend," she explained. "I don't want to go, but I'm the maid of honor so I kind of have to go. Two things about that involve you, if you aren't too busy laughing.

"First, what the hell am I supposed to give them? You seem like you'd know stuff like that. And no, I don't want to ask Alice because I want to get something and be done. No lectures or shopping trips. Second, and this is the really, really stupid part, I'm supposed to bring a 'date' so… would you come?"

Esme was too stunned to laugh. "You want me to come with you to Sam and Emily's wedding? On the reservation?"

Biting her lip hard, to make sure she wasn't losing her mind in a creepy dream world, Leah nodded. "Yeah. I asked my mom and Sam. They said it's fine if you're willing. See, don't ask me why, but you make me feel calm more than most other people do. So I figure maybe there'll be less chance of me flipping out if somebody looks at me the wrong way." She sighed and slumped onto the closest white armchair. "I've lost my mind, haven't I?"

"Maybe?" Esme admitted, laughing when Leah did. "How about this; I'll be at the border on the morning of the wedding and if you feel like you want, or need, me to come, I will. But you'll have an out that way."

Leah nodded. "That sounds good, thanks."

"Not at all." Esme stood up and motioned Leah to follow her. "Come on, let's go look at my too large collection of things and see if there isn't something you want to give them. Carlisle will be happy if I get rid of something."


	16. No Big Deal - Seth

**Disclaimer:**All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note: **I keep forgetting to say that this story has a banner made by the ever lovely _**evieeden**_! Please do check it out! The link is on my profile.

_"__Esme's made do with us as substitutes...__" – Rosalie_

* * *

**No Big Deal**

"No big deal, Mrs. C.," Seth said cheerfully from where he stood on the roof of the Cullen house. In a pile on a flat slope of roof were a stack of multi-colored shutters. He was, as he put it, being the _Price Is Right _model for Esme as she decided which shutters looked best on the third floor or her house. "I'm happy to help."

Esme smiled and motioned him to hold up a different set of shutters beside the window. "I hope you're as helpful to your mother."

"Course," he said with a grin. "Whenever she asks. After all, I'm the man of the family."

She couldn't help but laugh as she jumped up to join him on the roof, having settled on matte black shutters to give the house a more classic look.

Seth grabbed the tools needed to hang the shutters and started work on one side of a window while Esme took the other. "How come Edward or Jasper or Emmett or Dr. C. aren't helping you?"

"Edward's hunting with his family, Alice said I was forbidden to give Jasper a reason not to go shopping with her, Emmett and Rose are in Denali, and Carlisle's at work," she recited quickly. "I think they all get tired of helping me redecorate."

"Rude," he declared, using his finger rather than a hammer to drive a nail into the wall. "I used to do stuff like this with my dad all the time. He was teaching me to do carpentry and stuff. Restore antiques even, stuff like that."

"Have you done much since he died?" she asked hesitantly, not sure if he blamed her for his father's death or would want to talk about it with her.

Seth shook his head. "Not much time, being a wolf and all. Plus my dad was the best person on the rez for stuff like that. My mom says it's why our house doesn't look like it's about to fall apart and everyone else's does."

Esme let that comment go unanswered and focused on the first part. "I know it wouldn't be the same but, if you wanted, I'd be happy to show you what I know. I know a lot about antique restoration and I have built some furniture, like the porch swing you like to sleep on so much."

"Seriously? That swing is so comfy," he raved. "And seriously? You'd teach me stuff?"

She nodded eagerly. "I like teaching, especially people who want to learn. And you do. It isn't like it would be like school, either. You'd get to keep, or sell, whatever you make and I'll pay for the supplies."

"That doesn't seem fair, Mrs. C.," he protested before turning thoughtful, "but since I don't have any money, how about if be your redecorating assistant? So you can't pay me for stuff like this."

"That sounds like a very good deal, Seth," she agreed. "Thank you."

He shrugged, grinning widely. "It's no big deal, Mrs. C."


	17. Kitchen Confidential - Emily

**Disclaimer:**All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note: **I have a lot of reasons why I wrote this story but they all sound silly compared to the absolutely perfect thing **Just4Me **said in her review for the last chapter…

"_I love these stories because they show that this family really revolves around Esme. Like every good mother - she is the heart of the family."_

That right there? That's why I wrote this. So thank you, Just4Me, for reminding me and I hope you don't mind that I quoted you there!

_"__Esme's made do with us as substitutes...__" – Rosalie_

* * *

**Kitchen Confidential**

Esme was pretending to need Thanksgiving groceries when she ran into Emily Young at the busy supermarket in Forks.

The two had only met twice, both times when Sam brought Emily to the Cullen house to discuss things about the vampires staying in Forks and what it might mean for the Quileutes. Neither Emily nor Esme had said much while their men talked, but they'd bonded a little when Emily drooled jealously over the state of the art kitchen Esme had but didn't need.

"I think you need a second cart," Esme said in greeting, catching a bag of potatoes as they slid off the mound of groceries in Emily's cart.

"Or six," she laughed in agreement. "You know, feeding all the boys for Thanksgiving."

Esme smiled and put the potatoes in her own cart. "That sounds fun."

"Mm," Emily sighed noncommittally. "You know, for a bunch of boys who will eat absolutely anything, they sure are particular about what they _have _to have."

"How will you keep them out of the kitchen and keep them from eating what's already cooked before it's time?" she asked curiously.

"Threats of not cooking, I suppose," she said with a shrug. "I wish I had a bigger kitchen."

"Use mine," Esme offered automatically.

Emily's cheeks flushed, the lines of her scars looking pure white. "That's not what I meant, Mrs. Cullen. I'm sorry," she protested. "I wasn't dropping stupidly obvious hints. Really, I wasn't."

"Of course not," Esme assured her. "But really, use my kitchen. We don't eat Thanksgiving dinner, obviously, so why shouldn't you use it? Unless you think some of the boys might have a problem with food cooked at our house, of course."

"No, food is food to them," Emily said confidently. "You really wouldn't mind? Would you help me cook? Make sure I don't break, or steal, anything from your kitchen?"

"Steal whatever you like, and yes, of course I'd be happy to help. I don't know how good of a cook I am, but I'll try."

"Oh, Seth says you're a very good cook," Emily assured her. "He actually already asked me to ask you to help if I needed help because, and I quote, Jake's sister won't be caught dead in a kitchen. Besides, we're smart, we'll figure it out."

Esme smiled, happy at the compliment from both of them. "In that case, we'd better make use of my cart before we spend all afternoon cleaning up what falls out of yours."

They spent the next few hours carefully figuring out how much food they'd need to feed the Quileute boys and carefully storing it in the cars before Emily followed Esme home and they got to work on what most of the boys knew would be the best part, the desserts.

It was a struggle to keep Seth and Jacob away from the food as they cooked, but they enlisted Nessie as the kitchen guard and neither boy would cross the curly haired sweet-tempered angel. Never.


	18. Circle of Life - Rosalie

**Disclaimer:**All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

_"__Esme's made do with us as substitutes...__" – Rosalie_

* * *

**Circle of Life**

Esme offered Carlisle and Edward an apologetic look and ran out of the house, hoping that Rosalie hadn't got too far before she came to her senses and calmed down.

It didn't take long to find her. She was sitting on a huge boulder on the river's edge and the pulverized remains of a second boulder were in a pile beside her, the wind blowing small plumes of rock dust into the air.

"I'm sorry, Esme," Rosalie said when she sensed she had company. "I didn't mean to say those things in front of you."

"I'm not sure you should have said them to anyone," Esme pointed out as gently as possible, "but I think I understand why you did."

"I don't understand why they're judging me," she said, not really paying attention to whether or not Esme had finished talking. "I had to kill Royce and the other men who did this to me. I blame them so much more than Dr. Cullen for this life that I have now. Why can't they understand why I had to kill the men?"

Esme waited until Rosalie finished before she said another word. "They do understand, Rosalie. It's just that they wouldn't have chosen the same course of action. And that's far more true for Carlisle than it is for Edward," she added, wincing as she remembered Edward's time on his own. "It's not passing judgment, sweetheart, it's hoping that you won't regret what you did later."

"I won't," she said firmly. "But I suppose you're right; Edward did come with me when I killed some of them. He didn't try to stop me."

"Exactly. I promise you, that Carlisle and I knew what you were planning."

"How?" Rosalie snapped, twisting around to stare at her.

Esme sighed and hoped she wouldn't have to chase her again. "Edward's gift," she explained. "He tells Carlisle things that could put all of us in danger. What you did didn't, but it could have."

She scrunched her nose but didn't argue. "Oh. I suppose that makes sense. Thank you."

"Look, Rosalie," she said, folding herself onto the rocks near the boulder, "I know you aren't happy to be a vampire, but you have to realize that neither are Carlisle nor Edward. I am, but you're not alone. They'd rather be human too."

"Then why did Dr. Cullen turn me?" she demanded, trying to understand.

Esme thought for a minute, then answered the only way she knew how. "He turned you because he saw you lying in that street, he knew what those men did to you, he knew you were dying and he knew it wasn't fair that your beautiful life should end that way. He wanted to give you the chance to be whatever you wanted. There was only one way to that, Rosalie. And I promise you that he's so sorry he made the wrong choice for you."

"It's not wrong," she said slowly. "I just wish I could have been asked."


	19. Smile - Emmett

**Disclaimer:**All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Note: **I didn't reply to the last batch of reviews… so sorry! But I read them all, loved them, and truly appreciate them. Here's another little bit for you…

_"__Esme's made do with us as substitutes...__" – Rosalie_

**Smile**

She couldn't help but laugh at Emmett's impish grin of apology when another doorknob became dust in his hand.

"Sorry, Esme," he said, brushing the dust on his pants… and making a hole in them. "I'll get the hang of this strength thing eventually."

"Of course you will," she said with a smile. "Besides, it could be worse."

"It could?" he asked doubtfully. "Haven't I knocked down or broken most of the house?"

"Well, yes," she admitted, "but you aren't out trying to kill humans and you haven't hurt any of us."

Emmett nodded, a satisfied grin on his face. "That's true. I wish I'd quit breaking stuff, though. Did you break a lot of stuff?"

"Not as much as you," she said, exhaling in relief when the admission didn't seem to bother him. "Would you like to try something that might help you learn to control your strength?"

He stepped forward and nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, I'll try anything."

Esme chewed her lip for a second, squaring her shoulders. "You need to think of everything as though it were the very last thing you would ever want to hurt or break. What would that thing be?"

"Rose," he answered quickly.

"Okay, Rosalie," she said, hoping she could get him to focus on something other than sex with his mate. "If you were going to be a gentleman and treat Rosalie like a proper lady, you won't grab and yank with all your strength, would you?" When he said he wouldn't, she continued. "Right, so you just have to make yourself touch everything like you would touch Rosalie." She pointed to a book on the table that she knew no one was overly attached to. "Try tracing the picture on the cover of that book."

He walked slowly and purposefully to the coffee table and leaned down, his finger hovering over the green cover. He took a deep breath and touched the first letter, following the lines of the letters all the way through to the end.

When he stood back, Esme walked forward to check the condition of the book. Other than a tiny dent where he'd started and pressed too hard, it wasn't damaged at all. "Good job," she said with a smile. "You can do it."

His smile lit up the room. "You were right, all I had to do was think about Rose."

Cringing just a little, she hoped Rosalie was on her way home from a hunt with Edward because it wasn't hard to predict where his mind was headed. "That's all you have to do," she said before she lost him completely. "Have patience and be gentle. And keep smiling, that helps the rest of us."

"Life without smiling is no life at all, Esme," he declared. "I remember my grandmother saying that to me all the time."

"Never forget it, Emmett," she told him, "because she was right. Hold on to your memories of her. I think we all need them in this life.


	20. Not My Son - Maria

**Disclaimer:**All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

_"__Esme's made do with us as substitutes...__" – Rosalie_

* * *

**Not My Son**

Before anyone could move, the Mexican vampire was flying through the air, through a wall, over a river, and into a towering pine tree. She bounced off the tree and rolled twenty feet before she got her footing back and stood up.

By the time she did, Esme was in front of her.

Maria dropped into a defensive crouch. "Do not touch me again, senora," she hissed.

Esme sprang out of her own crouch, cupped her hand around the other woman's throat, and knocked her down a small hill, rolling with her and ending up on top of her. "I will touch you whenever you threaten my son," she hissed, her lips brushing against the other woman's neck. "Leave, leave him alone, never come back. That's when I'll do as you ask and not touch you."

Maria squirmed out from beneath Esme but didn't flee. Her pride wouldn't let her. "Maybe you do not understand who I am," she hissed. "Maybe you do not understand that my army could wipe out your entire family if I so much as snap my fingers."

"Snap your fingers," Esme dared her, keeping in a crouch as she stepped toward the other vampire. "See what happens. See if you survive long enough to see my family wiped out."

Maria hardly knew what to do. She'd never been challenged like that before. She raised her hand.

Jasper stepped forward, standing in front Esme. He meant to protect her, but his newly adopted 'mother' had other plans and stepped in front of him. "He's not yours anymore, Maria," she said simply.

"You're claiming him?" she asked skeptically, not believing these pacifist vampires would take such a great risk for one scarred, unstable soldier vampire.

Esme knew what 'claiming' meant and she shook her head fervently. "Absolutely not. Jasper, with Alice, has asked if he could be a part of my family and I gave him permission. He's free to come and go as he wishes," she turned to look at Jasper as she finished her thought, "so long as he isn't going with you, Maria."

Jasper's eyes were wide in shock and disbelief as he watched this timid, unassuming vampire morphed into something he greatly respected. He'd cared for her since the day he met her.

As Esme snarled again, Maria held her hands up, palms out. "Jasper?" she asked, already backing away. "Do you want to stay here, with her?"

He nodded once, making Esme smile around her snarl.

Maria sighed and took a larger step backward. "I can see things are settled here," she said, deciding to cut her losses before she was attacked again. "Jasper, if you change your mind, you know where to find me."

When she was gone, Esme turned to Jasper. "Please don't change your mind. She doesn't need you and she doesn't deserve you. Not my son."

"No one has ever stood up for me like that," he said slowly. "I don't know why you did, but thank you."


	21. If You Were My Daughter - Charlotte

**Disclaimer:**All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

_"__Esme's made do with us as substitutes...__" – Rosalie_

* * *

**If You Were My Daughter**

"What if I kill someone?"

Esme squeezed Charlotte's hand as they walked through the parking lot of the home improvement store. "You won't."

"How do you know?" the tiny vampire demanded.

"You don't want to kill anyone, so you want," Esme told her confidently. "We're not here to feed, Charlotte, we're here to shop for your new house."

"I can't believe Peter let Jasper and Alice buy a house," Charlotte said, desperate to grasp onto the change in subject. "I'm so excited to have a place of my own."

"I think we're all a little surprised," she said as they stepped into the store.

"Do you know what I'm going to do as soon as we get settled in?" she asked, and when Esme said she didn't, she told her. "I'm going to start working on getting him to take the next step, to change our diets. Do you think it'll be easier if we have a house and stay more in one place?"

Letting the girl she thought of as a daughter lead the way to the paint section of the store, still holding her hand, Esme said that she did. "Being established in one place probably will help. Do you think Peter wants to change, even a little?"

"Mm-hmm," she hummed, running her fingers over the colorful sample cards. "He's just too stubborn to admit it. He doesn't think he's supposed to want to, so he doesn't want to let himself. He accidentally told me that one day."

"Accidentally?"

"Would this be a good color for the kitchen?" Charlotte held up a strip of gray color samples and points to 'Quarry Me Gray'. When Esme nods, already knowing the color scheme that's been chosen, Charlotte finishes answering the question. "I was trying to hypnotize him, don't judge," she chirped, "I was bored. It didn't work, before you ask, but he wasn't paying attention and answered my question anyway. So I figure it was the truth."

"Probably," Esme agreed as they searched the endless wall of paint samples. "In any case, if you both want to do it, I have no doubt that you'll be able to do it one day."

"That's the plan." Charlotte stopped walking and leaned on the cart, looking at Esme carefully. "Alice said it was fine and that you all didn't mind, but I don't think we asked as properly as we should have, since it's Carlisle's coven and all that so, do you mind that we moved so close to you and might be changing our diet? We can get a different house."

Esme hugged the girl tightly, answering her first with action. "Absolutely not, Charlotte. Alice would never have told you it was fine if it wasn't. Carlisle doesn't run our family like other vampires might, you know. We want you and Peter as close to us as possible."

"Why?" Charlotte had to ask.

"Why?" she repeated, looking into her contact shielded eyes. "We think of you as our daughter. That's why."


	22. Teach Me To Fight - Peter

**Disclaimer:**All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

_"__Esme's made do with us as substitutes...__" – Rosalie_

**A/N: **This takes place in the timeline of _Breaking Dawn _(the book).

* * *

**Teach Me to Fight**

Esme found Peter sitting alone in a thick copse of trees on the northern edge of her property. He could see Charlotte, talking to Tia and Maggie, from where he sat but he was otherwise alone. She hated to approach him, to invade his silent thought, but she couldn't think of any other option.

"Just ask," he said quietly, breaking into her thoughts. When she didn't reply right away, he sighed and turned to her. "You want to know how to fight, right? And you can't think of anyone better to ask to teach you than me?"

"I'm sorry," she said softly, imagining the blush that would be on her cheeks. "Never mind, Peter, I can't ask that of you."

"Sure you can," he said as he stood up and brushed the bracken off his jeans. "Besides, you didn't ask first, Jasper beat you to it."

"I… he… what?" she stammered.

Peter laughed lightly as he walked toward her. "When he and Alice came to find us, he asked me to show you how to fight in a battle with other vampires. I said I would. But I was under strict orders not to say anything to you about until you came to me about it. So, Esme," he gave her a lopsided smile, "are you coming to me?"

Blinking back tears she couldn't shed at what she just heard, Esme nodded. "Yes, please. Everyone's so focused on Bella and the others know what to do. Carlisle would never teach me himself, so I need you."

"Would Carlisle know himself?" Peter asked, letting himself be a smart aleck for a minute. "Anyway, I know what you mean. I'm only supposed to show you how to fight, by the way, so are you ready to start?"

She was, and they did. For nearly a week.

Away from the gathered vampires, he taught her everything he learned from his short time under Jasper's instruction, things Maria had taught Jasper, and the few things he'd learned in the time since Jasper let him escape certain death.

Esme was a quick learner, eager to make sure she had each detail carefully memorized.

On the morning the Volturi were expected to arrive, with Carlisle and Edward already in the meadow waiting, Esme made her way across the lawn to where Peter stood with his mate. Seeing her coming, he whispered in Charlotte's ear and she went to Maggie.

"Thank you, Peter," Esme said in a whisper when they were alone.

He tried to smile. "Well, just don't die if we fight, alright? That's how you can thank me."

"We?" she said, knowing he said he hadn't made up his mind a few days earlier.

Peter shrugged and shifted his weight. "Jasper would kill me, slowly, if I don't try to keep his family alive for him. As long as Charlotte's safe, I'll do what I can."

It was a good enough answer for her. It was more than she ever wanted to ask, of anyone.


	23. Torn Apart - Jasper

**Disclaimer:**All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

_"__Esme's made do with us as substitutes...__" – Rosalie_

**A/N: **Yep, two chapters today. Since I failed and didn't post them when I was supposed to, I figured I should catch up. Hope you like them both!

Oh, and it's Esme (obviously) and Jasper. Thought I'd clear that up since I only use pronouns.

* * *

**Torn Apart**

He's sitting on the window sill, the window having been taken out completely, when she finds him. His back is to her and he is facing the mountains that line the horizon. It is sunny, and she can see the way the light bounces off his fractured skin.

She knows he hates that, hates that he doesn't look quite like the others. She knows that he is sitting there because he is torn apart inside.

It isn't that he doubts his place in the family anymore, she is certain he knows he belongs. More likely, it is that he isn't sure he is worthy of the family that loves him. He has these moments, he needs to have these moments. So long as he comes back from them, she lets him have them.

She stays close, though, drifting across the attic and folding herself onto an ancient trunk beside him. She doesn't say anything, she doesn't touch him. She just sits.

She longs to tell him it is alright, that he is okay, that she loves him like her own son but she knows it isn't what he wants to hear. He doesn't like speaking or being spoken to more than is absolutely necessary. It isn't his language. He's been deceived by words too many times.

He much prefers emotions. No one can lie with their emotions.

She feels bad sometimes because emotions can be so blunt and so harsh, and she worries that he's suffering too much for any many to bear. He always tells her not to worry, that he's used to it. But she'll never stop worrying.

She sees the pain flash in his eyes when the emotions around him flare. She knows he blames himself for too many of those flares.

He isn't perfect. He knows that and she knows that. He expects himself to be perfect, she doesn't want him to ever be perfect. If he achieves that, what other purpose will his life have?

It sounds terrible, but she feels the same about herself. She doesn't want there to ever be a day when she can't hope that she'll be better tomorrow. If she can try to be better tomorrow, she has something to live for. If tomorrow is only a continuation of today, she'll have nothing and she'll risk going backward.

She doesn't want that and she knows that it's his greatest fear.

She stands to go, worried her inner musings are bothering him.

He catches her hand and holds tight, so she sits back down.

It's what they do every time.

She worries she's bothering him, that he doesn't want her there. He's desperate that she never leave his side, that he wants her too much and, for his sins, she'll be ripped away from him.

He'll never tell her, but it's one of his greatest fears.

She's the glue that keeps him together, even though she'd say it was someone else. But he can't tell her, or he'll lose her forever.


	24. What They Don't See - Alice

**Disclaimer:**All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

_"__Esme's made do with us as substitutes...__" – Rosalie_

**A NOTE FROM ME: **I like reviews, I really do. But this is just fanfiction so I don't particularly like reviews or PMs that tell me what I did wrong, what I could have done better, or something else that makes me wonder why you bother reading what I write. So, henceforth and forevermore, please remember the **Thumperian Principle** when starting a review…

_**"If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all."**_

That's from _Bambi_, by the way.

And I still love, love positive reviews!

* * *

**What They Don't See**

"You can come in," Alice called out before Esme reached her bedroom door. "You don't have to ask."

"Asking is polite," Esme reminded her as she slipped into the bedroom and shut the door behind her. "How are you, sweetheart?"

It'd become a ritual between them. When everyone else in the family was gone; to hunt, to work, or to shop, Esme and Alice met in the latter's room and just talked. Esme knew her daughter needed the time and she knew, but Alice didn't know that she knew, that the pixie vampire sometimes concocted reasons to empty the house just so she could be alone with the woman she considered to be the only mother she ever had.

In answer to her question, Alice held out a notebook.

Esme flipped to the last page with any writing on it. She closed her eyes briefly when she saw the words written over and over on the unlined page.

_My name is Alice. Jasper loves me. Carlisle and Esme are my parents. They will all take care of me._

"Did something happen?" she asked. "Did you see something happen?"

"No," she said glumly. "It's just one of those moods."

Esme knew what moods she meant. Alice's biggest fear was that, for some reason, she'd fall 'asleep' again and wake up not knowing anything about who she was or why she was. She spent a lot of time making things to remind herself if the worst happened. Jasper and Esme were the only ones who knew she did it, and she tried to convince them it was a 'just in case' thing but they knew better. They knew that she looked at the reminders a lot, trying to bury the information deeply enough in her brain that it could never be lost.

Esme hugged her tightly, dropping the notebook on the desk. "You're right, you know, we will take care of you. No matter what happens, we love you."

Alice exhaled deeply and held onto Esme just as tightly. "I must have been crazy before. What if I go crazy again?"

"We'll love you," she said firmly. She knew it was useless to try and reassure her that she wouldn't go crazy again, if she had ever been. "No matter what, Alice."

"Our human attributes get magnified," Alice pointed out, repeating the conversation they'd had many times, "what if my craziness gets magnified?"

"What if it doesn't? It hasn't yet, and you were young when you were sent to the asylum, so maybe it's gone. Maybe you're just Alice now. Maybe that's all you ever need to be. My Alice. Jasper's Alice. There's nothing wrong with Alice, is there?"

Alice giggled, scooting back from Esme's embrace, leaving just their hands joined together. "No, she's got it pretty good, I think."

"I think so too. So you know what you should do? You should let her enjoy how good she's got it. She deserves it, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Alice said, "I do."


	25. One True Friend - Carlisle

**Disclaimer:**All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

_"__Esme's made do with us as substitutes...__" – Rosalie_

**A NOTE FROM ME: **

_**"If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all."**_

That's from _Bambi_, by the way.

* * *

**One True Friend**

Renesmee asked her to write it down. Her teacher had taught a class about classic romances and it made her curious about the romance between her grandparents.

This is what Esme wrote…

_Everyone thinks I love Carlisle, and I do. But it's more than that._

_Love is wonderful, love is beautiful, love is breathtaking. But it's friendship that makes it strong enough to last. _

_You can love someone and not be his friend. But you can't be someone's friend without loving them. Love can change. Love can change because it is passionate and it is mercurial._

_Friendship, though, true friendship is everlasting. You may fight and you may argue and you may swear you'll never speak to a friend again. But you will._

_If your lover is also your friend, your road will be smooth and happy and everlasting._

_That's how I love Carlisle._

_He's my friend, the truest friend I've ever had and the best friend I ever will._

_He loves me, but he doesn't love me just because he likes the way I look or how I laugh. I know he loves me because he knows everything there is to know about me and he still loves me._

_He doesn't care that I'm insecure, that my past has dark and hidden corners, that I wonder sometimes if I'm good enough for him. He loves me because of all those things._

_He'd let me keep secrets if I wanted to, if I needed to. But I don't want to keep anything from him. I want him to know what makes me good and what makes me bad._

_He doesn't tell me that I'm not bad and leave it at that, he makes me think about why I think I'm bad and then he talks me through thinking something else, something better. _

_It works both ways too. I know all about him and I love him more for it._

_I help him work through his insecurities, his questions, his doubts. _

_He leans on me. I lean on him._

_If we only loved each other, if we weren't the best of friends as well, we'd collapse in a heap when we leaned on each other. _

_But we don't collapse. We stand stronger for our weaknesses because we complete each other. It's friendship that does that, friendship that fills in the pieces that sometimes go missing. _

_Love is the glue that binds, that makes it all permanent, but friendship does the work._

_I love him more than I ever thought it was possible to love anyone, more than I think I should be able to love someone. I love him because he's my one true friend._

Renesmee smiled when she finished reading the paper that was covered in loopy, beautiful cursive. Every word of it was her grandmother and her grandfather. She had no doubt of that. No one couple understood each other like they did, no one else she knew would use such beautiful words to describe the love between them.

**The End**

* * *

**Thank you so much **for reading my little foray into Esme's world. I'm utterly floored by all the reviews and all the supportive words I've gotten from you. So thank you! xoxo


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